At 6 a.m. the baseboard under the window is cold and the coffee maker is the warmest thing in the kitchen. A few minutes in the basement with a flashlight usually tells you what kind of repair this is and who to call for it.
Long Island heats differently from most of the country. Molloy University’s Sustainability Institute, citing the U.S. Census, puts oil heat at about 59% of Long Island homes, compared with less than 9% nationwide. Odds are yours burns oil too.
Boiler, furnace or burner: name your system
Walk down to the equipment and look at what leaves it.
- Pipes going out, baseboard or radiators upstairs. That is a boiler. Hot water or steam carries the heat. See boiler repair.
- Big sheet metal ducts going out, vents in the floors or ceilings. That is a furnace. Warm air carries the heat. See furnace repair.
- A small motor and blower bolted to the front, with a copper or steel line running to a tank. That is an oil burner. It fires either a boiler or a furnace, and it has its own yearly service. See oil burner service.
- A unit outside that runs in winter too. That is a heat pump, which heats and cools. See heat pumps.
If you have a mix, such as a boiler for heat and a separate central air system, the HVAC repair page sorts out which one is acting up.
Five things to check before the truck rolls
All Island Comfort, a Wading River company that covers both counties, gives homeowners a short list to run through first. Each one can save a service charge.
- Make sure the thermostat is set to heat, and replace its batteries.
- Check the circuit breaker for the heating system.
- Make sure the emergency switch for the burner is on.
- On an oil system, check the tank gauge.
- Press the red reset button on the oil burner once. If it locks out again right away, leave it alone and call.
Beckett, one of the burner brands All Island Comfort services, gives the reason for stopping at one press. Its manual says the appliance has to be clear of oil and oil vapor before anyone starts or resets the burner, and it warns against firing it when excess oil has pooled inside.
If you smell gas or anyone in the house has a headache, nausea or dizziness, skip the list and go to emergency heating repair.
What a heating repair costs
Few Long Island companies publish repair prices, because the same symptom can be a small part or a cracked heat exchanger. All Island Comfort is one that does publish a range.
| Repair | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Igniter, flame sensor, gas valve, oil nozzle, circulator pump or zone valve | $200 to $700, parts and labor | All Island Comfort (Oct 2026) |
| Heat exchanger, control board or full burner replacement | Higher, priced on site | All Island Comfort (Oct 2026) |
| Diagnostic visit | Flat fee, applied toward the repair if you go ahead | All Island Comfort FAQ |
All Island Comfort also says its technicians diagnose the problem, walk you through it and give a price before any repair starts. Expect the same from anyone else you call, and be wary of a company whose price first appears on the invoice.
Repair it or replace it
There is no single age where a heating system has to go, but the signs line up across companies. All Island Comfort points to systems 15 or more years old, frequent breakdowns, rising fuel bills, soot, odors and rooms that never get warm. Service Experts in Hampton Bays adds repairs that are frequent or costly and safety problems or failed parts that keep coming back.
Efficiency is part of the math. The Department of Energy rates older, low-efficiency systems at 56% to 70% AFUE, the share of the fuel that becomes heat in the house, and high-efficiency systems at 90% to 98.5%. On an old system, a large repair bill buys you more years of that lower number.
If you are leaning toward replacement, a heat pump is worth a quote alongside a new boiler or furnace, because PSEG Long Island rebates apply to qualifying whole-house systems. The heat pump page has those rules.
Which county license covers heating work
In Nassau, the county’s home improvement license explicitly covers the installation, replacement or improvement of central heating systems. Plumbers are licensed by the towns, cities and villages instead.
In Suffolk, piping on a heating system falls under a restricted plumber’s license for HVAC issued by the county, and direct connections to the water supply or the gas service have to be made by a licensed master plumber, per Suffolk’s code of rules for plumbers.
Ask for the license number on the phone and look it up yourself. The license guide shows how.
Carbon monoxide alarms are required by New York’s Amanda’s Law in one and two-family homes with a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage. If yours is more than a few years old, put a new one on the list for the repair visit.
Help with the bill for older homeowners
New York’s Heating Equipment Repair or Replacement benefit, part of HEAP, is for homeowners age 60 or older who own and live in the home and meet HEAP income and resource rules. It pays up to $4,000 for repairs and up to $8,000 for replacements, based on actual cost. The state says the 2026 to 2027 benefit opened October 1, 2026. You apply through your county’s HEAP contact, not through the contractor.